The Book of Esther Page #2

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Royal One!

If I return to the king

without you,

my life may be in peril.

For the sake of my head,

I ask that you do

as the king commands.

I care not for your head

nor for anyone else's.

I have made up my mind.

And even if His Majesty himself

came to fetch me,

I would not go.

Now leave me!

I find this

conversation tiresome.

The queen tarries.

Perhaps she needs more time

to make herself presentable.

Perhaps she is deliberately

trying to keep us in suspense.

We soon shall see.

Sardar, what is

the meaning of this?

Who dares disobey the king?

The queen, Your Majesty.

What did she say?

Out with it!

She said she was

not in the mood for dancing.

If this is treason

you speak against the queen...

It is not treason,

Your Majesty, but truth.

Perhaps the

queen misunderstood my command.

No, Majesty.

The queen

understood perfectly.

She said that

even if Your Majesty

came to fetch her yourself,

she would not go.

This

impertinence shall not stand.

If I allow Queen Vashti

to disobey me,

then what will stop the women

of Persia from doing likewise?

I shall therefore

issue a new command.

By your word, Majesty.

I command that Queen Vashti

be removed from

the palace at once,

and I decree that

my marriage to her

is null and void.

By your word, Majesty.

All hail, King Xerxes!

Hail, King Xerxes!

I wish to be alone.

Esther, Esther,

I have terrible news!

What is it?

The king has dissolved

his marriage to Queen Vashti.

It is said that she

wickedly disobeyed a command.

What exactly did the king

command her to do?

She was commanded

to dance for the king

and his guests, and she refused.

And for this reason

she was banished?

Well, a royal command is

not to be taken lightly,

nor should a woman

disobey her husband.

Oh Judith,

you're one to talk.

Would you have me believe

that there is no disobedience

in your marriage?

None whatsoever.

Jacob does exactly

what I tell him to do.

Perhaps it is best

that I'm not married.

It is a

complicated business.

But not without

its rewards.

Judith,

stop your gossiping.

These palace intrigues

are none of our concern.

Oh, Miriam, Miriam!

I have terrible news!

This is a disaster

for the kingdom.

A fatalist sees a disaster;

a wise man sees opportunity.

But Lord Haman,

Persia is without a queen!

Then His Majesty will simply

have to find a new one!

Yes, Lord Haman, but

from which part of the world?

All of our allies have

run out of eligible brides.

Well, then His Majesty

will have to find a new queen

amongst his own people,

a young woman of nobility,

preferably...

a daughter of one of

his closest advisors.

Ah!

What a pity it is that the gods

have favored you with ten sons

and not a single daughter.

But Gaspar,

have you forgotten

that I have daughter

called Zara?

Forgive me, Lord Haman,

but she is but a child.

That was yesterday.

You know children,

they grow up so quickly.

Quickly enough for marriage?

Indeed!

You must take this proposal

to the king at once.

No, no, no, I'm far too

modest to make such a proposal myself.

No, no, that is why I'm relying

upon you to make it for me.

Me? But...

Oh, faithful friend, I want

the honor to be all yours.

But, Lord Haman,

what if His Majesty

receives it badly?

I may lose my head.

But I would be supremely

grateful for your sacrifice.

Now, the king's counsel will

be meeting with the king soon.

I want you to prepare

well your speech,

for my sake,

as well as for yours.

Blessed are you, Lord,

our God, King of the universe,

who sanctifies us

with his commandments

and commands us to light

the Sabbath candles.

Amen.

We should also give thanks

for our King Xerxes,

for permitting our people to

celebrate the Sabbath in peace.

If the king did not permit us

to celebrate the Sabbath,

we would of course disobey,

would we not?

Yes, my child,

that is true.

It would be better to disobey

the king than to disobey God.

And yet the queen disobeyed

the king and was banished.

The queen was indeed banished

because of her disobedience.

The queen was banished

because she refused to dance

before the king

and make a spectacle of herself.

Esther!

I cannot find it

in myself to condemn her,

for if I had been commanded so,

I too would have disobeyed.

Esther, you are permitted

many things under my roof,

but treason

is not one of them.

If the king commands it,

you are not to question.

Even if the king

commanded our people

not to obey the Sabbath?

Yes.

I mean no, I...

Either my words

are failing me,

or the student has indeed

surpassed the teacher.

Esther, my love, you must

follow your conscience,

but obedience to God is the

sure path to righteousness.

Yes, Teacher.

Yes.

Yes, Lord Haman.

All hail, King Xerxes!

Hail, King Xerxes!

There must

be treachery afoot.

How so, Mordecai?

Haman's lips are moving.

Providence has

ordained that my head bears the crown,

but is it also the

design of providence

that I should spend

my life in solitude?

Is there no suitable queen

for the king of Persia?

Your Majesty, if I may

have permission to speak?

Oh great king, it is neither

the design of providence

nor the will of your people that

Your Majesty remain unmarried.

Where, then, would you

have me find a queen?

Do you think we've

not looked everywhere?

His Majesty has

looked everywhere

except from among

his own people.

This eunich

speaks truthfully.

Is it not customary

for the king

to marry the daughter

of one of his allies?

Customary, Majesty,

but not required.

Again, the

eunuch speaks truthfully.

And Majesty,

if I may be so bold,

may I...

may I suggest you look toward

your nobles and advisors

for such a queen?

Gentlemen, what

think you of this proposal?

Your Majesty,

if I may be permitted,

Gaspar's suggestion,

while it is a worthy one,

is not feasible, I fear.

For what reason?

Your Majesty surely knows

that more than half of your

counselors are eunuchs.

That's a great disadvantage,

I'm afraid,

when it comes to

producing offspring.

Your Majesty, my worthy

colleague is mistaken.

One of your counselors

does indeed

have a suitable

candidate for marriage.

Pray tell me Gaspar.

Who is this

suitable candidate?

It is none other than

Zara, the daughter of Lord Haman.

Lord Haman,

does Gaspar speak the truth?

He does indeed,

Your Majesty,

and while I love my daughter

more than my own life,

it would give me great pleasure

to offer her to you as a bride.

I also have another

candidate, Your Majesty.

Mordecai,

you have never taken a wife.

Whence comes this candidate?

Your Majesty

speaks the truth,

however it has been my

pleasure to be the guardian

of a young orphan girl

who has grown into an

exceptional young woman,

as fine a daughter

as Persia can produce.

Tell me, Mordecai,

is she beautiful?

As lovely as a

morning star, Your Majesty,

and more importantly,

she is as obedient and modest

as she is beautiful.

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